Hydraulic fire foam lift



Sept. 2, 1941. a ADAMS 2,254,879

HYDRAULIC FIRE FOAM LIFT Filed March 16, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 'INVENTORATTORNEY Sept. 2, 1941. J. s. ADAMS HYDRAULIC FIRE FOAM LIFT 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 16, 1938 Sept. 2, 1941. J. s. ADAMS HYDRAULICFIRE LIFT Filed March 16, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 PUMP 70 5,455 0F Z/FrPatented Sept. 2, 1941 FlCE HYDRAULIC FIRE FOAM LIFT John S. Adams, EastProvidence, R. 1., assignor to Socony-Vacuum 'Oil Company, Incorporated,New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 16, 1938,Serial No. 196,101

2 Claims.

1 This invention relates to a fire extinguishing apparatus for storagetanks and, more particularly, is concemed with a foam delivery apparatusfor combating fires in oil tanks.

Oil tanks are generally provided with permanently installed devices forplacing fire fighting foamon the surface of the oil in the tank in caseof fire. However, fires in oil storage tanks are usually accompanied byexplosions which may partially or wholly remove the roof of 'the tank'and thus frequently render useless any permanently installed device.Moreover, many tanks are not equipped with any permanently installedfire fighting devices.

In order to overcome the above difiiculties, varions types of emergencyfire fighting equipment have been devised which can be rushed to thescene-of the accident, assembled and put into action. These priordevices usually comprise some arrangement as, for instance, merely polesand pikes which enable the workmen to hoist'a foam delivery tube overthe upper edge of the oil tank, whereby fire fighting foam may bedelivered on to-the surface of the burning oil. The main disadvantagewith the devices used in the past is the amount of time and the numberof workmen required to assemble and erect the foam delivery tube into aposition for delivering fire fighting foam on to the burning oil.

It is an object of this'invention to provide a highly efficientfireextinguishing apparatus that may be erected and put into operationdelivering fire fighting' foam into a storage tank in the least possibletime.

Another object of this invention is to provide an efiicient fireextinguishing apparatus which can be assembled for operation in arelatively short time by a minimum number of persons.

A further object of this invention is to provide an efficient fireextinguishing apparatus of a portable character which may be dismantledand stored in a minimum amount of space when not in use.

In accordance with my invention, I provide a portable fire extinguishingapparatus for storage tanks comprising, in combination, asuitablysupported hydraulic lift comprising telescope chambers and anelongated rigid foam delivery tube,

the upper chamber of said lift being constructed with means forattachment to said rigid foam delivery tube in order that it may behoisted thereby into a position for delivery of foam into a storagetank.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combinations of elements,

and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified in the constructionhereinafter set forth and the scope of the invention will be indicatedin the claims. The invention will be more closely defined by referenceto the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a suitable hydraulic lift;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the telescope chambers ofthe hydrauliclift;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the apparatus showing a suitable foamdelivery tube dismantled and a flexible, extension delivery tubing in arolled up position;

Fig. 4. is a perspective view of the apparatus in position for use; and

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a suitable pump and fluid reservoir forthe hydraulic lift.

Referring now to the drawings wherein similar numbers refer to similarparts throughout the several views, the hydraulic lift which, in fact,is a quickly extendible jim-pole operated by hydraulic means, comprisesa plurality of tubular chambers I, 2 and 3 which telescope within oneanother, the lowermost chamber I being of the largest diameter and thenext chamber 2 being of sufliciently less diameter to slide into chamherI, and chamber 3 being of sufliciently less diameter to slide intochamber 2. The smallest chamber 3 is constructed with a supporting head4 which, in turn, is equipped with loops 5 adapted for fastening blockand tackle 6 (see Fig. 3) or other suitable hoisting means. Thelowermost chamber I is provided with a fluid inlet 1 which in turncommunicates with a suitable fluid supply reservoir through a suitablepump as, for in-' stance, the easily portable reservoir 9 and plungertype pump ID shown in Fig. 5. The pump I0 is equipped with a by-pass IIfor lowering the hydraulic lift. It is to be noted, however, that othermeans may be employed for lowering the lift as, for instance, providinga three way cock in the fluid supply pipe 8.

In order to afford means for supporting the telescope chambers in anupright position during use, a suitable number of legs I2 are provided,each pivotally attached to a plate I 3 welded to the upper part ofchamber I. Preferably, the lower part of chamber I and legs I2 areequipped with hooks or loops I4 and [5 respecti ely, whereby guy linesI6 may be fastened to regulate the distance to which the legs may beextended. When not in use, the legs I2 fold inwardly to a positionalongside the tubular chamber I. Each leg I2 is preferably equipped witha detachable stake II having a pointed end. The detachable stakes Il maybe provided with pins I8 to prevent the legs from sinking into theground. The stakes Il may also be provided with horizontal rings I9 foruse when the hydraulic lift is to be erected on soft ground. .It ispreferred that the legs I2 be of such length that when the detachablestakes IiI are removed and the legs allowed to fold alongside thetubular chamber I, they will not extend beyond the end of .chamber I,thus facilitating erection..

Preferably the joints between the chambers I, 2 and 3 are constructed soas to provide fluidtight connections rather than making fluid-tightconnections between the lower ends of chambers I and 2 and theirsurrounding chambers. The joints may be made in any suitable manner. Ahighly satisfactory construction is shown in the detailed sectional viewof Fig. 2, wherein the upper edge of chamber I terminates in a belljoint 29 with a ring 2| resting on the internal shoulder of the belljoint. Suitable packing material 22 is disposed on ring 2| and clampedfirmly in place by plate 23 carrying collar 24, the plate 23 beingsecured by bolts 25 passing through the plate and lugs 26 which arewelded to thechamber. ,When the plate 23 is clamped tightly into place,the packing material 22 is compressed against the enclosed chamber-wallthus providing the required fluid-tight fit. The joint at the upper edgeof chamber 2 is of a similar construction.

The lower ends of chambers I and 2, which are positioned within chambers2, and 3 respectively, are similar in construction to each other, exceptthat a plate 21' may be provided across the bottom of chamber I forsealing it and thereby reducing the amount of fluid required for raisingthe lift. Small guide lips 28 may be provided around the lower edges, ifdesired.

The foam delivery tube 29 (see Figs. 3 and 4) is an elongated rigid tubeor pipe of sufificient length for its delivery end to extend over theupper edge of a storage tank and may be of any suitable construction,such as the tube 29 shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Preferably, the deliverytube is constructed in sections as shown, which may be quickly assembledin case of a fire and which may be dismembered and stored in arelatively small space when not in use. Due to the intense heatdeveloped in a storage tank in case of, fire, it is preferredto-have thedelivery tube of sufilcient length to extend from the top of the storagetank to a point on the ground a short distance from the tank, thuspermitting the device to be set up at a place where the heat isrelatively not so intense.

The foam delivery tube is equipped with a collar 30 constructed with asuitable hook or 'ring for attaching the block and tackle 6 or otherhoisting means of the hydraulic lift. It is desirable to positionthe-collar 30 on the foam delivery tube so that more weight will be onthe base end of the tube. Hence, when the tube is raised the base endwill remain on the ground of its own accord while the delivery end iselevated. Near the bottom of the tube, a connection 3| is provided forintroducing foam. Preferably, a suitable supporting carriage, such as32, is constructed around the base of the tube.

The delivery end of the tube 29 comprises a curved end 33 permitting itto be hooked over the upper edge of a storage tank. In the preferredform of theapp'aratus, a flexible,,collapsible asbestos tubing 34 (seeFig. 4) is attached to the delivery end of the foam tube 29 and is ofsumcient length. to extend down into a storage tank to the surface ofthe oil. In operation, this flexible tubing extends down into thestorage 'tank to approximately the surface of the burning oil and thusdelivers the fire fighting foam directly into the fire, whereby all ofthe foam serves to extinguish the flre,' resulting in a considerableincrease in efliciency. When foam is merely emitted from a delivery tubeat the top of a storage tank and allowed to settle down toward thesurface of the oil, a substantial amount of th fire fighting foam isdestroyed or carried away by .the rising fumes and flames; hence only aportion of the foam delivered actually serves to extinguish the fire.The flexible tubing 34 may be rolled up when not in use as shown in Fig.4.

While the apparatus may be prepared from various metals, it is preferredto construct the hydraulic lift of steel and to construct the foamdelivery tube of some lighter metal, such as aluminum.

The hydraulic lift may be operated with any desirable fluid, such asair, steam, water or oil from any suitable compressor. For instance, inthe case of water, the water from a fire-truck pumper may be used.However, in the pre ferred form a light grade machine oil is used (a lowpour point test oil being used in winter).

The oil may be contained in a small portable tank which serves as areservoir while a small plunger type pump may serve as the compressingmeans.

In an operation where the chambers I, 2 and 3 of the hydraulic lift wereconstructed of steel pipes of 2", 3" and 4" diameter, respectively,chamber I' being approximately 7 long and chambers 2 and 3 being 10'long each, it was found that a pressure of approximately '70 pounds persquare inch was required to fully extend chamber 2, and then a pressureof-l60 pounds per square inch was required to fully extend the 2" pipecomprising chamber 3. While one man can operate the pump, it is fasterto use two men. The time required to erect the hydraulic lift, assembleand elevate a foam delivery tube of three sections is about four to fourand a half minutes. Furthermore, the lift may beset up by four men, and,after it has been erected, only three men are required to elevate thefoam delivery tube to its proper position, whereas nine or ten men arerequired to elevate a foam delivery tube by use of poles andpikes.

In case a fire occurs in a storage tank, the apparatus is hurriedlywheeled tothe tank, whereupon the hydraulic lift is quickly set up,supported by its legs I2, and the pump operated to extend the telescopechambers to their full height while the sections of .the foam deliverytube 29 are being quickly assembled. As soon as the foam tube 29 isassembled, the block and tackle 6 is operated with a suitable cable orrope to hoist the tube into position with its delivery end 33 hookedover the edge of the oil tank. Foam is supplied to the delivery tube 29through connection 3| fromany suitable source, as, for instance, aconventional twp-pipe foam system or a powder foam system such as thewell-known Amdyco system.

Since certain changes may be made in the above constructionand'different embodiments of the invention could be made withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is intended that all with its foamdelivery end hooked over the to;

' edge of the tank by manually moving the has end of said tube.

2. In a method of fighting fires in a storage tank containing highly,inflammable material such as oil by introducing foam into the tankthrough an elongated rigid, foam delivery tube shaft, being equippedwith hoisting means at the upper end adapted to be fastened to saidfoamdelivery tube for raising it into the air, said foam delivery tube beingprovided with means for connection to said hoisting means at a pointbetween the center of gravity of said foam delivery tube and thedelivery end thereof, and said shaft being of sufiicient heightwhenvertically extended that said tube may be raised into theair by saidhoisting means to such an extent that the tube may be thereafter swunginto operative position of greater length than the height of the tank,"

the improvement in the method of placing. the tube in operative positionwith its delivery end over the top edge of the tank which compriseserecting a vertically extensible shaft equipped with hoisting means atthe upper end thereof, out of contact with the'tank, verticallyextending said shaft, attaching said hoisting means to said tube at apoint between the delivery end and the center of gravity thereof,hoisting the delivery end of said tube into the air, and then swingingthe delivery end of said tube into operative position by manually movingthe base end of the tube.

sorm s.

